The most half-assed attempt I’ve made in over 5 straight years of this nonsense!

Sunday:

She’s questioning my life choices because these aren’t from Dunkin

Pretend those are ORGANIC Doritos

E built us a table so we could play cribbage in our beach chairs

Monday:

Filthy children

Clean children!

Tuesday:

I started a toy purge and organization. It was a huge mistake.

Monkey see, monkey do

Very serious about his monkey duties

Wednesday:

We have the best floaties

OMG check out the dollar spot!!!

Thursday:

All these children are with me (and one other mom)

The potter at Old Sturbridge Village gave everyone clay

Linc LOVES selfies

Friday:

4 hours at the lake and I barely saw my kids

Sure, whatever, just be quite while Caroline is in piano lessons

Picking up America stuff for our America photoshoot

Saturday:

Berry picking

We still have the best floaties

I bought 30 minutes of peace for $3.50 worth of ice cream

I am recovering from an attack of something that made me absolutely useless on Sunday. I suspect it was a kidney infection but did not have the time or energy to go to the ER for it, so I’m forcing it out of my body with sheer willpower and cranberry juice. Now I am suffering from a condition called “why the hell don’t we have air conditioning???” It’s terrible and reoccurring and should definitely be illegal for 8 months-pregnant women. I’d like to speak to the person in charge around here.

Summer is for bare feet, sunshine so bright it hurts your eyes, running through sprinklers, visiting local farms, playing in the dirt, mooing at cows, brushing up our checkers game, and doing all the other stuff that makes the long, hot days the best part of the year.

We are SO excited that our school year is over and now we have the freedom to enjoy a schedule-free few months. But did you know more than 22 million children may miss out on milk’s nutrition this summer when they lose access to free or reduced-price meal programs at school? Although some programs like the USDA’s Summer Food Service Program help to deliver meals when school is not in session, the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program (which we use and love and appreciate so much during the school year) do not reach children during the summer months. That’s why food banks play an even more critical role in helping children access nutritious foods when class isn’t in session.

Fresh milk is one of the most requested, but least donated items at food banks, meaning children in need may be missing out on the essential nutrients, including high-quality protein, that it supplies. I never thought about that until I became part of this campaign – of course families want and need milk, and of course it can be hard to come by when food banks emphasize non-perishable donations. Now there’s something we can do about that shortage.

You can help feed a childhood in your community this summer with a small donation at milklife.com/give. A donation as little as $5 can deliver a highly desired and nutrient-rich gallon of fresh milk to children who need it most. Because all children deserve the chance to play, learn and grow, especially during the summer months when being a kid is supposed to be joyful and carefree. When you visit The Great American Milk Drive site and enter your zip code, you can direct your donation to the Feeding America food bank that helps right in your local area.

We all love milk, but probably no one more than Linc. He couldn’t care less that it’s nutritious and a great source of protein – he just thinks it’s delicious. It also gives all the kids the energy they need to keep the fun going all afternoon. Sprinklers are basically the summer equivalent of baths in our house,  which is fine by me.

For each share of Great American Milk Drive “Feed A Childhood” content with hashtag #milkdrive via Facebook and Twitter between 6/1/16 – 6/30/16, The Great American Milk Drive will contribute $1 to the Feeding America® network for the purchase of fluid milk, up to a maximum total donation of $5,000.

And as a thank you for taking the time to read about The Great American Milk Drive, they’re offering a giveaway to readers of this blog and the others participating in the campaign.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

I have a weekend hangover from trying to do lots of fun stuff today. It’s not alcohol-related. It’s dehydrations/exhaustion/pregnancy related. Because this is just my life now. No drinking, but all the worst side-effects.

Sunday:

Pretty sure I went to sleep with a much older guy in that spot

Downtown looking very scenic

Celebrating a friend’s birthday by stealing her shoes

Monday:

Cuddles

Ironic or just awful?

Shenanigans

Tuesday:

Matchy brothers

He said “This is how they’re supposed to go”.

Even when she TRIES not to be in pictures, she can’t help it

Wednesday:

He would live on those if I let him

I paid money for the original Willy Wonka so we can watch it 100 times this summer

At least they’re sharing?

Thursday:

Very proud of his style

Linc is “helping” carry the teddy

Clean baby

Friday:

When you need to make sure you have all your Hand & Foot cards

In 24 hours, this will be a wedding

He can just live there for the summer

Saturday:

Perfect lake morning

Picking up the essentials

Pretending to be a real photographer

I am going to celebrate the summer solstice by sending all of my children to bed early, enjoying a long bath, and taking the maximum amount of Tylenol allowed before I put myself to bed. Hopefully tomorrow I will feel more like a capable human than a swollen pregnant monster.

Or more likely, this is just my life now. Yay, summer pregnancy.

By the end of today, we’ll officially have a first grader AND a second grader in the house. How does this even happen?? It’s really inappropriate. It’s a good thing Linc will never grow up and leave me. Right? RIGHT?????

Both kids are ending the year on really great notes, even though there were some hard days and Evan struggled a little with his social skills and his reading. I’m still really, really happy with our magnet school and the opportunities it gives them to enjoy art, music and STEM activities as part of their curriculum every single week.

Because I am a true End Of The Year Mom, we almost missed the bus this morning because I was taking photos on the sidewalk instead of standing at our stop. I also forgot to feed them breakfast, but let’s be honest – I almost ALWAYS forget to feed them breakfast. School provides free breakfast to everyone and probably does a better job than I would anyway. They’re also getting last-day-of-school school lunch today, which I assume is “eat all the leftover ice cream from the freezers”, but is better than what I had to pack (nothing).

CAN YOU TELL HOW READY WE ARE FOR SUMMER??

(First day of school post for comparisons here)

It was really hot this week, so went to the lake, wore babies and sat on each other. Obviously.

Sunday:

Morning photoshoot at a marina

They both seemed OK with this, so I didn’t stop it.

Evening at the lake

Monday:

Morning at the lake

Sleepy baby face

The Queens Elsa

Tuesday:

Morning at the lake

When did his legs get so long?

More sibling sitting

Wednesday:

He figures by now he’s the boss of the lake

Linc walked around and around this bench for 20 minutes

Even the kids thought we should buy lavender to bring home because it smelled so good

Thursday:

This is what Caroline requested for breakfast.

Spoiled, spoiled children

Allllllll day at the lake

Friday:

This was supposed to be a nice picture of Caroline holding flowers, but she tried to smell them and stabbed herself in the eye

We were a hit in the frozen section

It’s really hot in my house.

Saturday:

There was music, so she was dancing

Heeeeere’s Lincy!

Planet viewing in the planetarium

SCHOOL STARTS ON WEDNESDAY. It’s so good and also so bad. I’m suddenly going to have a lot of time on my hands in the middle of the day and way too much to do in the morning and evening. I’m worried about the kids having a hard adjustment to classrooms (and Caroline to full day) after and structure and rules and having to wait their turn and stand in line and all of that after a summer of nothing but lake life and vacations.

But going grocery shopping with ONE baby I can put on my back? Heaven. My fridge is never going to be empty again!